China and African nations have intensified efforts to implement key agreements from the 2023 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit, with representatives from 53 African countries convening in Changsha this week. The ministerial meeting marks a critical step in advancing what Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called "an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future."
Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined in a congratulatory letter the strategic importance of China-Africa collaboration, emphasizing measures to expand economic cooperation and joint modernization efforts. The Republic of the Congo's Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso, representing Africa's FOCAC co-chair position, affirmed continental support for China's development initiatives.
Key developments include:
Progress on 10 partnership actions for modernization established at the 2023 summit
Adoption of the Changsha Declaration supporting Global South solidarity
Commitments to counter trade protectionism and unilateral sanctions
Wang highlighted that China-Africa trade has grown 20-fold since FOCAC's establishment 25 years ago, with infrastructure projects creating over 1.2 million African jobs since 2000. Both sides pledged to strengthen cooperation in digital economy development and green energy transition.
"When 2.8 billion people unite," Wang stated, "we transform the global economic landscape." The meeting concluded with plans for enhanced agricultural technology transfers and expanded African agricultural exports to China.
